Save The Cheerleader
by sardonicsmiley
Summary: But he has to, because if he doesn’t he’ll lose Claire, and he can’t do that, can’t live with that, can’t even imagine a world without her. HiroClaire. Because I can.


1Title: Save the Cheerleader

Fandom: Heroes

Characters: Hiro (mentions of Hiro/Claire)

Rating: PG-13

Word Count:

Summary: But he has to, because if he doesn't he'll lose Claire, and he can't do that, can't live with that, can't even imagine a world without her.

Author's Note: So Claire is pretty much getting paired off with everyone, but then so is Peter, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon with my personal favorite pairing so far. Who says I need an actual basis in canon? Hiro/Claire all the way! Or something. A look into Future!Hiro!'s head.

It's cold.

It's always cold when he travels to the past, as though the actually living heat of the moment can no longer touch him. And it hurts, as it always hurts when there is more than one of him existing at the same time. He is only saved frm being completely crippled because his other self, the version alive right now in this time period, is on the other side of the continent, somewhere in Las Vegas, if his memory serves. But the pain is still there, constant throbbing pain wracking his body.

But he has to do this. Has to, and so he makes himself move, forces the jump to the inside of the subway car, feels his bones quake in protest. Hurts. Hurts so bad. But he has to, because if he doesn't he'll lose Claire, and he can't do that, can't live with that, can't even imagine a world without her.

A world where she does not smile at him the first time they meet, friendly even though she can't understand a word he's saying to her, smile growing even larger when he had enthusiastically shook her hand and repeated his name over and over till she got it. A world where she does not tell him, after he has learned some English and she has learned some Japanese, that he does not have to protect her like he protects the others, because she won't get hurt, she'll be okay, and he had only shook his head and pretended not to understand.

Losing her, losing all that, is unacceptable, and it had been Peter who saved her before, Peter who remembered talking to this version of himself, and so he had went back. Back to this subway in New York to get help from this man who someday he will greatly respect but is now so much a boy. Because he can't help her himself, cannot save her right now, she is to close to the other him, to the him that belongs in this time, he would be incapacitated if he tried.

So he will send Peter, and in a round about way Peter will bring her to him, and she will smile at him and he will feel the world shift upon its axis and know she is special and important and his. And he will hold her after the warhead is disabled, crashing into a theater in New York with her still clinging to it, her body rebuilding itself after being crushed. And he will tell her, in Japanese so she doesn't understand, that if he could he would go back make it never happen, go back and save her from having to experience that.

And he would.

But he can't.

All he can do is tell Peter to save her, which in the end will result in her clinging to the warhead as it plummets towards earth. And that will result in her wandering into his room in the middle of the night, night time terrors keeping her awake, and he never quite understands why she comes to him, when he barely speaks her language. He holds her anyway, just holds her and tells her everything will be alright and how sorry he is and eventually she falls asleep. Before long she is knocking every night.

But he did not think about touching her till she was eighteen, and even then he did not act on it, because it seemed wrong to try to take anything else from her. But one night she had turned to him, as they sat discussing Wolverine and how glad she was she had missed out on the bone-claw drama, and kissed him. He was not sure then, and he is not sure now, what she ever saw in him, what a girl like her wanted with a man like him...

He was not stupid enough to argue, though, especially not when she had smiled at him afterwards, her face open and clear and happy, her eyes dancing. He had only smiled back at her, and she had kissed him again.

It is one of his favorite memories, still, one he cherishes all the more as the world gets colder and harder all around him. Back then, even scared and scarred and afraid as they were they had been so young and happy and stupid. He wishes they could go back to that.

But they can't, and if he can't convince Peter to go to her, if Peter fails to save her, they will never have any of that to begin with. They will never have the happiness of their first time together. They will never have the sadness of the lose of their child while it was still carried in her womb. They will never have this morning, her small hands on either side of his face, her blue eyes calm and intense, and she hadn't spoken, because their relationship had never depended on words, just looked into his eyes and he had known everything he needed to know.

And so here he is.

And he will make sure Peter saves her.


End file.
